Source: St. Martin's Press

#BookReview Lizzy Blake’s Best Mistake by Mazey Eddings @foxygrandpa27 @KayePublicity @smpromance @StMartinsPress #LizzieBlakesBestMistake #MazeyEddings #KayePublicity #smpromance #smpinfluencers

#BookReview Lizzy Blake’s Best Mistake by Mazey Eddings @foxygrandpa27 @KayePublicity @smpromance @StMartinsPress #LizzieBlakesBestMistake #MazeyEddings #KayePublicity #smpromance #smpinfluencers Title: Lizzie Blake's Best Mistake

Author: Mazey Eddings

Series: A Brush with Love #2

Published by: St. Martin's Griffin on Sep. 6, 2022

Genres: Contemporary Romance

Pages: 336

Format: Paperback

Source: Kaye Publicity, St. Martin's Press

Book Rating: 8.5/10

Lizzie has made endless mistakes. Kitchen fires, pyramid schemes, bangs (of the hair and human variety), you name it, she’s done it… and made a mess of it too. One mistake she’s never made is letting anyone get closer to her than a single hook-up. But after losing yet another bakery job due to her uncontrolled ADHD, she breaks her cardinal rule and has a two-night-stand that changes everything.

Once burned, twice shy, Rake has given up on relationships. And feelings. And any form of intimacy for that matter. Yet something about charming, chaotic Lizzie has him lowering his guard. For two nights, that is. Then it’s back home to Australia and far away from the pesky feelings Lizzie pulls from him. But when Lizzie tells him she’s got an unexpected bun in the oven, he’ll do whatever it takes to be a part of his child’s life… except be emotionally vulnerable, obviously. He’s never going to make that mistake again.

Through a series of mishaps, totally “platonic” single bed sharing, and an underground erotic baking scheme, Lizzie and Rake learn that even the biggest mistakes can have the most beautiful consequences.


Review:

Engaging, heartfelt, and sweet!

Lizzie Blake’s Best Mistake is a quick, uplifting, flirty tale featuring the absentminded, quirky Lizzie and the handsome, loyal Rake as they navigate a relationship that includes a two-night stand, an unexpected pregnancy, undeniable chemistry, romantic moments, a relocation to live as co-parents, and an attraction that is extremely hard to keep platonic.

The writing is tender and smooth. The characters are charismatic, supportive, and endearing. And the plot is an irresistible blend of friendship, family, tricky situations, neurodiversity, spirited shenanigans, awkward interactions, light drama, and unconditional love.

Overall, Lizzie Blake’s Best Mistake is a refreshing, optimistic, delightful tale by Eddings with characters I couldn’t help but fall in love with, a storyline that kept me engaged from start to finish, and a happy-ever-after ending that made me swoon and wish for more.

 

This book is available now.

Pick up a copy from your favourite retailer or from one of the following links.

           

 

 

Thank you to SMP Romance and Kaye Publicity for gifting me a copy in exchange for an honest review.

 

About Mazey Eddings

MAZEY EDDINGS is a neurodiverse author, dentist, and (most importantly) stage mom to her cats, Yaya and Zadie. She can most often be found reading romance novels under her weighted blanket and asking her boyfriend to bring her snacks. She’s made it her personal mission in life to destigmatize mental health issues and write love stories for every brain. With roots in Ohio and North Carolina, she now calls Philadelphia home. A Brush with Love is her first novel.

Photo Credit: Ben Eisdorfer

#BookReview Other Birds by Sarah Addison Allen @SarahAddisonAll @StMartinsPress #OtherBirdsNovel #SarahAddisonAllen #StMartinsPress #SMPInfluencer

#BookReview Other Birds by Sarah Addison Allen @SarahAddisonAll @StMartinsPress #OtherBirdsNovel #SarahAddisonAllen #StMartinsPress #SMPInfluencer Title: Other Birds

Author: Sarah Addison Allen

Published by: St. Martin's Press on Aug. 30, 2022

Genres: General Fiction, Women's Fiction

Pages: 304

Format: Hardcover

Source: St. Martin's Press

Book Rating: 10/10

From the acclaimed author of Garden Spells comes an enchanting tale of lost souls, lonely strangers, secrets that shape us, and how the right flock can guide you home.

Down a narrow alley in the small coastal town of Mallow Island, South Carolina, lies a stunning cobblestone building comprised of five apartments. It’s called The Dellawisp and it is named after the tiny turquoise birds who, alongside its human tenants, inhabit an air of magical secrecy.

When Zoey Hennessey comes to claim her deceased mother’s apartment at The Dellawisp, she meets her quirky, enigmatic neighbors including a girl on the run, a grieving chef whose comfort food does not comfort him, two estranged middle-aged sisters, and three ghosts. Each with their own story. Each with their own longings. Each whose ending isn’t yet written.

When one of her new neighbors dies under odd circumstances the night Zoey arrives, she is thrust into the mystery of The Dellawisp, which involves missing pages from a legendary writer whose work might be hidden there. She soon discovers that many unfinished stories permeate the place, and the people around her are in as much need of healing from wrongs of the past as she is. To find their way they have to learn how to trust each other, confront their deepest fears, and let go of what haunts them.

Delightful and atmospheric, Other Birds is filled with magical realism and moments of pure love that won’t let you go. Sarah Addison Allen shows us that between the real and the imaginary, there are stories that take flight in the most extraordinary ways.


Review:

Charming, poignant, and beautifully written!

Other Birds is an emotionally-charged, moving tale that takes you into the lives of a handful of people, including the kind, independent Zoey Hennessey, as their worlds are irrevocably changed when the sudden death of a long-term resident has them finally sharing their time, secrets, and heartbreaking pasts.

The prose is lyrical and expressive. The characters are complex, scarred, and conflicted. And the plot is a compelling, sobering tale of life, loss, family, friendship, grief, guilt, denial, secrets, abuse, neglect, self-preservation, loneliness, and the importance of learning to love and be loved.

Overall, Other Birds made me think, made me cry, and resonated with me long after the final page. It’s an immersive, impactful, hopeful tale by Allen that combines exceptional character development with the magic of the supernatural to weave a heart-tugging, bittersweet story steeped in an abundance of loneliness, optimism, tenderness, and pain.

 

This novel is available now.

Pick up a copy from your favourite retailer or from one of the following links.

                

 

 

Thank you to St. Martin’s Press for gifting me a copy in exchange for an honest review.

 

About Sarah Addison Allen

SARAH ADDISON ALLEN is the New York Times bestselling author of Garden Spells, The Sugar Queen, The Girl Who Chased the Moon, The Peach Keeper, and Lost Lake. She was born and raised in Asheville, North Carolina.

Photo Credit: Katie Linsky Shaw

#BookReview Stay Awake by Megan Goldin @megangoldin @StMartinsPress #StayAwake #MeganGoldin #StMartinsPress #SMPInfluencers

#BookReview Stay Awake by Megan Goldin @megangoldin @StMartinsPress #StayAwake #MeganGoldin #StMartinsPress #SMPInfluencers Title: Stay Awake

Author: Megan Goldin

Published by: St. Martin's Press on Aug. 9, 2022

Genres: Mystery/Thriller

Pages: 352

Format: Hardcover

Source: St. Martin's Press

Book Rating: 9/10

Liv Reese wakes up in the back of a taxi with no idea where she is or how she got there. When she’s dropped off at the door of her brownstone, a stranger answers―a stranger who now lives in her apartment and forces her out in the cold. She reaches for her phone to call for help, only to discover it’s missing, and in its place is a bloodstained knife. That’s when she sees that her hands are covered in black pen, scribbled messages like graffiti on her skin: STAY AWAKE.

Two years ago, Liv was living with her best friend, dating a new man, and thriving as a successful writer for a trendy magazine. Now, she’s lost and disoriented in a New York City that looks nothing like what she remembers. Catching a glimpse of the local news, she’s horrified to see reports of a crime scene where the victim’s blood has been used to scrawl a message across a window, the same message that’s inked on her hands. What did she do last night? And why does she remember nothing from the past two years? Liv finds herself on the run for a crime she doesn’t remember committing as she tries to piece together the fragments of her life. But there’s someone who does know exactly what she did, and they’ll do anything to make her forget―permanently.

In the vein of SJ Watson’s Before I Go to Sleep and Christopher Nolan’s cult classic Memento, Megan Goldin’s Stay Awake is an electrifying novel that plays with memory and murder.


Review:

Tight, sinister, and gripping!

Stay Awake is a propulsive, intense mystery that introduces us to Liv Reese, a disoriented, troubled young woman who, after waking in the back of a cab with a pocket full of cash, a bloodied knife, arms covered in messages to not fall asleep, and no idea how she got there, finds herself visiting old jaunts and doing whatever she can to try and remember and piece together the last two years of her life since the day her life was violently turned upside down and her memories all but disappeared.

The writing is taut and brisk. The characters are resourceful, confused, and persistent. And the plot told using a mixture of flashbacks and alternating POVs unravels quickly into an intricate, action-packed tale full of twists, turns, secrets, surprises, questionable personalities, duplicitous motivations, manipulative actions, parasitic relationships, violence, and ruthless murder.

Overall, Stay Awake is an unpredictable, chilling, entertaining tale by Goldin that was a little nutty in all the best ways while also being engaging, engrossing and impossible to put down.

 

This novel is available now.

Pick up a copy from your favourite retailer or from one of the following links.

                

 

 

Thank you to St. Martin’s Press for providing me with a copy of this story in exchange for an honest review.

 

About Megan Goldin

MEGAN GOLDIN worked as a correspondent for Reuters and other media outlets where she covered war, peace, international terrorism and financial meltdowns in the Middle East and Asia. She is now based in Melbourne, Australia where she raises three sons and is a foster mum to Labrador puppies learning to be guide dogs. THE ESCAPE ROOM was her debut novel.

Photograph courtesy of Author's Goodreads Page.

#BookReview Bend Toward the Sun @kisscrafter @smpromance @StMartinsPress #JenDevon #BendTowardtheSun #SMPRomance #SMPInfluencers #StMartinsPress

#BookReview Bend Toward the Sun @kisscrafter @smpromance @StMartinsPress #JenDevon #BendTowardtheSun #SMPRomance #SMPInfluencers #StMartinsPress Title: Bend Toward the Sun

Author: Jen Devon

Published by: St. Martin's Griffin on Aug. 9, 2022

Genres: Contemporary Romance

Pages: 384

Format: ARC, Paperback

Source: St. Martin's Press

Book Rating: 10/10

Two imperfect people. One year under the sun. A love story you won’t ever forget.

Rowan McKinnon doesn’t believe in love. With a botany PhD, two best friends who embrace her social quirkiness, and some occasional no-strings sex, she has everything she needs. But she hides deep wounds from the past—from a negligent mother, and a fiancé who treated her like a pawn in a game. When an academic setback leads Rowan to take on the restoration of an abandoned vineyard, she relishes the opportunity to restore the grapes to their former glory.

She does not expect to meet a man like Harrison Brady.

An obstetrician profoundly struggling after losing a patient, Harry no longer believes he is capable of keeping people safe. Reeling, Harry leaves Los Angeles to emotionally recover at his parents’ new vineyard in Pennsylvania.

He does not expect to meet a woman like Rowan McKinnon.

As their combative banter gives way to a simmering tension, sunlight begins to crack through the darkness smothering Harry’s soul. He’s compelled to explore the undeniable pull between them. And after a lifetime of protecting herself from feeling anything, for anyone, Rowan tries to keep things casual.

But even she can’t ignore their explosive connection.


Review:

Alluring, intimate, and sweet!

Bend Toward the Sun is a heart-tugging, enchanting tale that takes you into the lives of two main characters. Rowan, a young woman who is thoughtful and hardworking but much more comfortable surrounded by plants than other people, and Harry, a caring obstetrician who is struggling to overcome a professional loss that has left him traumatized and emotionally astray.

The writing is heartfelt and tender. The characters are supportive, layered, and loving. And the plot is a touching tale of family, friendship, self-discovery, happiness, taking chances, growth, healing, tender moments, light drama, community, and new beginnings.

Overall, Bend Toward the Sun is an uplifting, absorbing, magical debut by Devon that was so much more than I ever expected and one which I undoubtedly highly recommend.

This book is available now.

Pick up a copy from your favourite retailer or from one of the following links.

            

 

 

Thank you to SMP Romance – St. Martin’s Press for gifting me a copy in exchange for an honest review.

 

About Jen Devon

Jen Devon wrote her first romance when she was eight. Now she writes vivid, cinematic love stories about imperfect people finding their perfect match. A former biology academic and lecturer, she currently works in the tech industry and dreams of writing full-time. She’s an avid gardener, photographer, and boardgamer, a thrift store enthusiast and unapologetic nerd. She’s a mom of six (three kids, three rescue mutts) and lives in central Ohio with her engineer husband. Bend Toward the Sun is her first book.

Photo Credit: Maya D Photography

#BookReview Can’t Look Away by Carola Lovering @StMartinsPress #CantLookAway #CarolaLovering #StMartinsPress #SMPInfluencers

#BookReview Can’t Look Away by Carola Lovering @StMartinsPress #CantLookAway #CarolaLovering #StMartinsPress #SMPInfluencers Title: Can't Look Away

Author: Carola Lovering

Published by: St. Martin's Press on Jun. 14, 2022

Genres: Mystery/Thriller

Pages: 320

Format: Hardcover

Source: St. Martin's Press

Book Rating: 8.5/10

In 2013, twenty-three-year old Molly Diamond is a barista, dreaming of becoming a writer. One night at a concert in East Williamsburg, she locks eyes with the lead singer, Jake Danner, and can’t look away. Molly and Jake fall quickly and deeply in love, especially after he writes a hit song about her that puts his band on the map.

Nearly a decade later, Molly has given up writing and is living in Flynn Cove, Connecticut with her young daughter and her husband Hunter—who is decidedly not Jake Danner. Their life looks picture-perfect, but Molly is lonely; she feels out of place with the other women in their wealthy suburb, and is struggling to conceive their second child. When Sabrina, a newcomer in town, walks into the yoga studio where Molly teaches and confesses her own fertility struggles, Molly believes she’s finally found a friend.

But Sabrina has her own reasons for moving to Flynn Cove and befriending Molly. And as Sabrina’s secrets are slowly unspooled, her connection to Molly becomes clearer––as do secrets of Molly’s own, which she’s worked hard to keep buried.

Meanwhile, a new version of Jake’s hit song is on the radio, forcing Molly to confront her past and ask the ultimate questions: What happens when life turns out nothing like we thought it would, when we were young and dreaming big? Does growing up mean choosing with your head, rather than your heart? And do we ever truly get over our first love?


Review:

Brisk, sinister, and tight!

Can’t Look Away is a gripping psychological thriller that takes you on a journey into the life of the sweet, lonely Molly Hunter as she juggles living in a small community, being a caring wife and mother, ongoing struggles with infertility, memories of an all-consuming relationship that changed her life forever, and a new friend who is too good to be true.

The prose is crisp and tense. The characters are secretive, troubled, and vulnerable. And the plot using flashbacks and a back-and-forth, past/present style, intertwines and unravels quickly into a menacing tale of family, friendship, deception, lies, drama, manipulation, jealousy, secrets, revelations, tragedy, betrayal, and young love.

Overall, Can’t Look Away is another taut, tortuous, riveting tale by Lovering that highlights just how fine the line between love and obsession can truly be and reminds us that every choice, good or bad, always has a consequence.

 

This book is available now.

Pick up a copy from your favourite retailer or from one of the following links.

           

 

 

Thank you to St. Martin’s Press for providing me with a copy in exchange for an honest review.

 

About Carola Lovering

Carola Lovering is the author of TELL ME LIES (Atria Books) and TOO GOOD TO BE TRUE (St. Martin's Press). She attended Colorado College, and her writing has appeared in W Magazine, National Geographic, Outside, and Yoga Journal, among other publications. She lives in Connecticut with her husband and son.

Photo courtesy of Author's Goodreads Page.

#BookReview Paradise Girls by Sandy Gingras @smpromance @StMartinsPress #ParadiseGirls #SandyGingras #smpromance #SMPInfluencers #StMartinsPress

#BookReview Paradise Girls by Sandy Gingras @smpromance @StMartinsPress #ParadiseGirls #SandyGingras #smpromance #SMPInfluencers #StMartinsPress Title: Paradise Girls

Author: Sandy Gingras

Published by: St. Martin's Griffin on Jul. 5, 2022

Genres: Contemporary Romance, Women's Fiction

Pages: 320

Format: Paperback

Source: St. Martin's Press

Book Rating: 8/10

Sandy Gingras’s Paradise Girls features a broken engagement. A ruined vacation in paradise. One adorable little girl. The perfect recipe for the chance of a lifetime…

Mary Valley is in a funk. She’s a writer for home magazines, but she’s lost touch with what home means. Her life seems meaningless. The last house she wrote about was a gazillion-dollar mansion with a moat! Plus, she’s estranged from her daughter, CC and granddaughter, Larkin and mired in a dead-end relationship with her boss.

Daniel is a man adrift since his son Timmy was killed in Afghanistan. He’s living on a houseboat in Florida with Timmy’s three-legged dog, Tripod and taking tourists out on fishing charters. But his life is on the edge. He’s painting his houseboat black, and he can’t stop thinking about “getting lost at sea.”

When Mary’s boss tells her he’s spending Christmas with his ex, she books a trip with her family to The Low Key Inn, a hotel on the edge of the Everglades. But things go wrong from the get-go. CC bails out of the vacation, and Mary is stuck with an unhappy Larkin. The hotel is dated and down-on-its-luck, and perhaps its owner is a witch. Then Mary meets Daniel, casts a hook into his head and wrecks his boat.

This is the story of how wounded people can help each other heal, how lost people can help each other find their way home. How life can become a love story…


Review:

Sweet, heartwarming, and tender!

Paradise Girls is an optimistic, engaging novel that takes us into the lives of three main characters. Mary, a kind-hearted young grandmother who, after her recent breakup with the man she thought she would spend the rest of her life with, decides to embark on a little getaway to regroup and discover what she truly desires. Daniel, a divorced father who, after losing his only son in Afghanistan, decides to lead a simpler life involving a houseboat and his late son’s three-legged dog, Tripod. And Ollie, a widow who is just beginning to struggle with her love for a dilapidated inn and her need for something more.

The prose is sweet and reflective. The characters are caring, supportive, and generous. And the plot is a compelling tale of life, loss, family, friendship, generosity, self-discovery, support, consideration, happiness, taking chances, companionship, new love, and the intricacies of mother-daughter relationships.

Overall, Paradise Girls is a cosy, charming, uplifting debut by Gingras with its small-town charm, endearing characters, heartfelt storyline, and reminder of how important it is at any age to find that place that truly feels like home.

 

This book is available now.

Pick up a copy from your favourite retailer or from one of the following links.

            

 

 

Thank you to SMP Romance – St. Martin’s Press for gifting me a copy in exchange for an honest review.

 

About Sandy Gingras

Sandy Gingras is the author and illustrator of over twenty gift books. She’s also published fiction, poetry and narrative non-fiction, and she won the Debut Dagger Award for mystery writing in 2012, for her story Beached. She’s designed hundreds of products for national stationery companies and owns two retail stores of her own. She lives on an island six miles out to sea in a happy cottage on the bay with her husband and a dog named Turtle. Paradise Girls is her debut novel.

Photo Credit: Sandy Gingras

#BookReview The Wedding Season by Katy Birchall @smpromance @KatyBirchall @StMartinsPress #TheWeddingSeason #KatyBirchall #smpromance #SMPInfluencers

#BookReview The Wedding Season by Katy Birchall @smpromance @KatyBirchall @StMartinsPress #TheWeddingSeason #KatyBirchall #smpromance #SMPInfluencers Title: The Wedding Season

Author: Katy Birchall

Published by: St. Martin's Griffin on May 3, 2022

Genres: Contemporary Romance

Pages: 384

Format: Paperback

Source: St. Martin's Press

Book Rating: 8.5/10

Freya Scott is getting married. Her wedding to Matthew, her long-term boyfriend, is the first of eight in her calendar this year, and as someone who prides herself on being meticulously organized, Freya is intent on making it the perfect day to remember.

But when Matthew calls things off hours before they walk down the aisle, Freya’s entire life plan goes up in smoke. Humiliated and heartbroken, the last thing she wants is to attend a summer of other peoples’ nuptials on her own.

Fortunately, her friends have an idea: together they devise a series of outrageous challenges for Freya to complete at each event, designed to distract her from Matthew and what might have been. From getting stuck in an old church bathroom and needing to be rescued by the vicar to making out with a barman at a French chateau, Freya realizes that despite herself, she might just be having fun.

By the time the final wedding arrives, she will discover that the road to a happy ending sometimes has unexpected detours, that “I do” is only the beginning––and that perhaps her own love story isn’t over just yet.


Review:

Cute, amusing, and highly entertaining!

The Wedding Season is a lighthearted, feel-good tale that takes you into the life of Freya Scott, a young woman who, after recently being jilted at the altar, endeavours to tackle a wedding season survival task list created by her two best friends that will challenge her to be more, do more, and perhaps provide an opportunity for a meet-cute with a man she could never have dreamed of liking but who is actually absolutely perfect for her.

The prose is flirty and fun. The characters are friendly, lovable, and sweet. And the plot is an engaging, push-pull tale of family, friendship, tricky situations, playful banter, embarrassing moments, humorous hijinks, self-discovery, happiness, romance, and love.

Overall, The Wedding Season is another charming, smart, enjoyable tale by Birchall that I thoroughly enjoyed and which, in my opinion, is the perfect choice for anyone who loves romcoms that have a whole lot of hope, heart, and humour.

 

This book is available now.

Pick up a copy from your favourite retailer or from one of the following links.

            

 

 

Thank you to SMP Romance – St. Martin’s Press for gifting me a copy in exchange for an honest review.

 

About Katy Birchall

Katy is the author of several young adult novels including The It Girl series, the Hotel Royale series and Morgan Charmley: Teen Witch. She is the co-author of the middle grade Lightning Girl series and Star Switch with Alesha Dixon, and the Find the Girl teen series with YouTube stars Lucy and Lydia Connell. Katy was proud to be the author of a retelling of Jane Austen’s Emma for the Awesomely Austen series, a collection of Austen’s novels retold for younger readers. She has also written a non-fiction book, How to be a Princess: Real-Life Fairy Tales for Modern Heroines.

Katy lives in London with her partner, Ben, and her rescue dog, Bono.

Photo by Imogen Forte.

#BookReview Bloomsbury Girls by Natalie Jenner @NatalieMJenner @StMartinsPress #BloomsburyGirls #NatalieJenner #StMartinsPress #SMPInfluencers

#BookReview Bloomsbury Girls by Natalie Jenner @NatalieMJenner @StMartinsPress #BloomsburyGirls #NatalieJenner #StMartinsPress #SMPInfluencers Title: Bloomsbury Girls

Author: Natalie Jenner

Published by: St. Martin's Press on May 17, 2022

Genres: Historical Fiction, Women's Fiction

Pages: 370

Format: Hardcover

Source: St. Martin's Press

Book Rating: 8/10

Bloomsbury Books is an old-fashioned new and rare book store that has persisted and resisted change for a hundred years, run by men and guided by the general manager’s unbreakable fifty-one rules. But in 1950, the world is changing, especially the world of books and publishing, and at Bloomsbury Books, the girls in the shop have plans:

Vivien Lowry: Single since her aristocratic fiance was killed in action during World War II, the brilliant and stylish Vivien has a long list of grievances – most of them well justified and the biggest of which is Alec McDonough, the Head of Fiction.

Grace Perkins: Married with two sons, she’s been working to support the family following her husband’s breakdown in the aftermath of the war. Torn between duty to her family and dreams of her own.

Evie Stone: In the first class of female students from Cambridge permitted to earn a degree, Evie was denied an academic position in favor of her less accomplished male rival. Now she’s working at Bloomsbury Books while she plans to remake her own future.

As they interact with various literary figures of the time – Daphne Du Maurier, Ellen Doubleday, Sonia Blair (widow of George Orwell), Samuel Beckett, Peggy Guggenheim, and others – these three women with their complex web of relationships, goals and dreams are all working to plot out a future that is richer and more rewarding than anything society will allow.


Review:

Nostalgic, heartwarming, and tender!

Bloomsbury Girls is a sweet, sentimental tale that sweeps you away to post-WWII London and into the lives of three main characters. Evie Stone, a young Cambridge graduate who begins work in the rare books department of Bloomsbury Books after being denied a coveted research position by the old boys at the university, Vivien Lowry, a sophisticated woman who spends her days in the fiction section grieving the loss of her fiancé during the war and yearning to become a successful writer herself, and Grace Perkins, a secretary and mother of two boys who would love to escape her loveless, controlling marriage and gain a little independence of her own.

The writing is expressive and sweet. The characters are determined, independent, and progressive. And the plot is a cosy tale about life, love, loss, family, friendship, female inequality, literary greats, hopes, dreams, and new beginnings.

Overall, Bloomsbury Girls is a light, charming, engaging novel by Jenner that was a delight to read with its abundance of self-discovery, female friendships, and cameos by some of the most famous authors of all time.

 

This novel is available now.

Pick up a copy from your favourite retailer or from one of the following links.

            

 

 

Thank you to St. Martin’s Press for gifting me a copy in exchange for an honest review.

 

About Natalie Jenner

Natalie Jenner was born in England and emigrated to Canada as a young child. She obtained her B.A. and her LL.B. from the University of Toronto, where she was the 1990 Gold Medalist in English Literature at St. Michael's College, and was Called to the Bar of Ontario in 1995. In addition to a brief career as a corporate lawyer, Natalie has worked as a recruiter, career coach, and consultant to leading law firms in Canada for over two decades. Most recently Natalie founded the independent bookstore Archetype Books in Oakville, Ontario, where she lives with her family and two rescue dogs. A lifelong devotee of all things Jane Austen, "The Jane Austen Society" is her first published novel.

Photograph courtesy of Author's Website.

#BookReview My Wife is Missing by D.J. Palmer @djpalmerauthor @StMartinsPress #MyWifeisMissing #DJPalmer #StMarinsPress #SMPInfluencers

#BookReview My Wife is Missing by D.J. Palmer @djpalmerauthor @StMartinsPress #MyWifeisMissing #DJPalmer #StMarinsPress #SMPInfluencers Title: My Wife is Missing

Author: D.J. Palmer

Published by: St. Martin's Press on May 10, 2022

Genres: Mystery/Thriller

Pages: 384

Format: ARC, Paperback

Source: St. Martin's Press

Book Rating: 9/10

A family vacation turns into a nightmare for Michael Hart when he discovers his wife and two children have disappeared from their New York City hotel room. Horrified, he fears they’ve been kidnapped. Michael’s frantic search to find them takes a shocking turn when he discovers that his wife, Natalie, appears to have left quite willingly, taking their children with her. The police want to know why, and so does Michael. But there may be a reason why Natalie ran, something Michael can’t tell the police―the truth about his past.

While untangling his deceptions might be the key to locating Natalie, Michael knows it could also be his undoing. To find his wife, he must now turn to the one person capable of exposing all that he’s been hiding. Natalie thinks she has Michael all figured out and has hatched a plan to escape from him permanently. One detail, though, threatens to derail her efforts: sleep―or more accurately, the lack of it. Since the moment the shocking revelations about her husband came to light, Natalie’s insomnia has worsened to the point that she now suffers from delusions.

Are her fears about Michael valid―or a symptom of her condition? With her children’s lives at risk, the stakes for Natalie could not be higher. On her own, running low on energy and resources, avoiding increasingly close calls with Michael―who is on the hunt and closing in fast―Natalie needs someone to turn to for help. But who can she trust when she can’t even trust herself?


Review:

Clever, twisty, and well written!

My Wife is Missing is an intricate, perfectly paced thriller that takes us into the life of Michael Hart, a husband and father of two who finds his life turned upside down when he returns from picking up a pizza for dinner only to find his wife and children missing from the hotel and only his son’s beloved bear left behind as evidence that they were ever even there.

The writing is smooth and fluid. The characters are astute, devious, and committed. And the plot unravels briskly into a sinister tale full of twists, turns, manipulation, deception, desperation, jealousy, red herrings, familial drama, marital strife, tragedy, and murder.

Overall, My Wife is Missing is an intricate, crafty, addictive read by Palmer that captivated, satisfied, and highly entertained me and was a good reminder that things are never quite what they seem, and behind closed doors nobody really knows what happens.

 

This book is available now.

Pick up a copy from your favourite retailer or from one of the following links.

              

 

 

Thank you to St. Martin’s Press for gifting me a copy in exchange for an honest review.

 

About D.J. Palmer

D.J. PALMER is the author of numerous critically acclaimed suspense novels. He received his master’s degree from Boston University and after a career in e-commerce he shifted gears to writing full time. He lives by the ocean in Massachusetts where he is working on his current novel. Besides writing, DJ enjoys yoga, songwriting, and family time with his two children and his ever faithful dog.

Photo by Ron Cowie.

#BookReview The Homewreckers by Mary Kay Andrews @mkayandrews @StMartinsPress #TheHomewreckers #MaryKayAndrews #StMartinsPress #SMPInfluencers

#BookReview The Homewreckers by Mary Kay Andrews @mkayandrews @StMartinsPress #TheHomewreckers #MaryKayAndrews #StMartinsPress #SMPInfluencers Title: The Homewreckers

Author: Mary Kay Andrews

Published by: St. Martin's Press on May 3, 2022

Genres: Mystery/Thriller, Women's Fiction

Pages: 448

Format: Hardcover

Source: St. Martin's Press

Book Rating: 9/10

Summer begins with Mary Kay Andrews, in this delightful summer listen about flipping houses, and finding true love.

Hattie Kavanaugh went to work helping clean up restored homes for Kavanaugh & Son Restorations at 18; married the boss’s son at 20; and was only 25 when her husband, Hank, was killed in a motorcycle accident.

Broken hearted, but determined to continue the business of their dreams, she takes the life insurance money, buys a small house in a gentrifying neighborhood, flips it, then puts the money into her next project. But that house is a disaster and a money-loser, which rocks her confidence for years to come. Then, Hattie gets a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity: star in a beach house renovation reality show called The Homewreckers, cast against a male lead who may be a love interest, or may be the ultimate antagonist. It’s a question of who will flip, and who will flop, and will Hattie ever get her happily-ever-after.

Filled with Mary Kay Andrews’s trademark wit, warmth, junking trips, and house porn, The Homewreckers is a summer beach delight.


Review:

Comedic, mischievous, and fun!

The Homewreckers is a charming, summery read that takes you just outside of Savannah, Georgia and into the life of Hattie Kavanaugh as she meanders through all sorts of highs and lows from being a young widow, losing her savings on a house that was unfixable, a contract to become a new reality tv home improvement star, the discovery of a body that may be that of a missing school teacher from seventeen years ago, and a blossoming attraction to the show’s creator/producer, Mo Lopez.

The prose is tight and witty. The characters are endearing, quirky, and amusing. And the plot, including all the subplots, unravel and intertwine into an irresistibly heartwarming tale of life, loss, grief, heartbreak, murder, friendship, tricky mishaps, dangerous situations, drama, community, family, and love.

Overall, The Homewreckers is another refreshing, entertaining, enjoyable treat by Andrews that lived up to all my expectations and was without a doubt the perfect read to make it feel like summer.

 

This novel is available now.

Pick up a copy from your favourite retailer or from one of the following links.

 

           

 

 

Thank you to St. Martin’s Press for gifting me a copy in exchange for an honest review.

 

About Mary Kay Andrews

Mary Kay Andrews is the pen name of American writer Kathy Hogan Trocheck, based in Atlanta, who has authored a number of best-selling books under the Andrews pen name since 2002.

Trochek graduated from the University of Georgia with a journalism degree in 1976. She worked as a reporter at a number of papers, and spent 11 years as a reporter for the Atlanta Journal-Constitution before leaving to write fiction full-time in 1991. She published ten mystery novels under her own name between 1992 and 2000, and switched to the Andrews pen name in 2002 to author Savannah Blues, which marked a change in her style to more Southern-flavored themes.

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